The monumental composition, which articulates Picasso’s passion for painting and lust for life during the twilight years of his career, sold for £12,464,250 / $15,617,705 (including buyer’s premium), leading an auction that totalled £36,413,750 / $45,626,429 — 77 per cent sold by lot.

The auction, which attracted bidders from 25 countries across five continents, opened with Egon Schiele’s Liegender Mädchenakt from 1909, a breakthrough year in the short yet eventful life of the artist. The painting, delicately rendered in watercolour, India ink and pencil on paper, sold for £1,271,250, more than four times its high estimate.